26 Moments
by Blazie
Summary: 26 moments that demonstrate Kate and Keith's quirky - but lovable - relationship. KatexKeith/Vatonageshipping. Based on themes for A Rose for me-A Rose for you's alphabet challenge though I'm not in it. T for semi-mature themes, I suppose.
1. Almond

**Hi. I saw the Alphabet challenge, and although I'm too late to properly enter, I'm still doing it. I couldn't resist. ^^**

* * *

Almond

Kate grabbed another almond from the bag and threw it at the paper target hung between two of the bunk beds in the girls' room. The nut hit its mark, in the middle of the red and blue collection of circles, before falling into a previously placed bowl. Grinning to herself, Kate grabbed another, this time placing it in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully.

"I still don't get why you want to stay inside, Kate," commented Rhythmi on the bottom bunk of the opposite bed. A mirror image, excluding Kate's almonds. "I mean, I want to get out of studying and work. I want to become an Operator, but I don't have to work all of the time. But why are you here? Aren't you the study freak? The talented mark-obsessed girl?"

Kate swallowed before replying, "Since when am I mark-obsessed? And besides, you just said that you didn't want to work all of the time. Maybe I'm sick of capturing Bidoof and studying type advantages. I'd rather improve my aim and eat good snacks than do boring, unnecessary work."

"You don't need to improve your aim, Kate!" This remark was punctuated and emphasized by the tiny _crinkle_ of another almond hitting the target's paper bulls-eye.

"Fine. My excuse is that I want to practice aiming with distractions. That's certainly valid, with you talking to me." Another almond hit the target, dead center. _Crinkle._

"Yet you're hitting the center every time. Is there anything that I could say that would distract you?"

"Doubtful."

There was a pause. "Jim likes Joanne, you know," Rhythmi said.

Kate sighed as she launched another perfect throw._ Crinkle._ "Yes, I do know. You've told me about five times now."

"I think Jo likes him back."

_Sigh. Crinkle._

There was a pause. "Keith likes you."

The almond flew wildly to the left of the target, falling to the floor. "What?" Rhythmi grinned as her friend sat bolt upright, glaring. "...Hey! No lying, Rhyth!"

"It's the truth!" Rhythmi sang. "Why're you so concerned? Do you like him?"

Kate's temper flared. "No! Of course not!"

"Kate likes Keith! Kate likes Keith! Kate likes-"

She was silenced by an almond to the forehead, courtesy of an irritated Ranger-in-training. "Hey!"

Kate grabbed her type advantage textbook, opened it, and furiously stared at the inside, although she didn't process a single word on the page. Rhythmi, almost feeling a chill from the cold treatment, picked up the almond from her blanket and popped it into her mouth, promptly spitting it back out, "Ugh, this tastes like tree bark! How can you stand these?"

Kate glanced in her direction, muttering, "How would you know what tree bark tastes like?"

Rhythmi hastily said, "Stop changing the subject. It's okay if you like Keith, you know. You two would make a cute-"

Finally Kate lost it, and Rhythmi barely avoided the thick textbook that sailed towards her head.

* * *

**Hi. I've edited pretty much every chapter im this collection at the moment (including this one, which is why the AN is different). Please enjoy!**

**Blazie  
**


	2. Blonde

Blonde

Keith was the last one into class after lunch. He almost always was, not because he wanted to be late, but because he usually spent lunch in the library. With his pillow, as Isaac put it. So when the bell rang for the end of lunch, he was slow to pick up his belongings in his tired state, and walked lazily to class. The odd thing was that the Ranger School gave their classes absurd amounts of time between bells, so he still had two or three minutes every day at the end of lunch to talk to - or annoy - Kate and Rhythmi.

It had only been two months since Kate had come to the Almia Ranger School from Fiore. Somehow, the somewhat-friends Rhythmi and Keith had forced her to be their friend right from the very first day of her education, and now the three were as close as could be early that January. Some even called them the three musketeers.

Some also said that Keith had to secretly like one of the girls, because why else would he spend so much time with them? But Keith honestly enjoyed being friends with the girls, nothing more.

When Keith walked into Ms. April's classroom, he wasn't surprised to find Rhythmi and Kate in the room's corner, talking animatedly. He also found it quite normal that they seemed to be disagreeing on something. The two had conflicting personalities, which started arguments weekly. Quickly scanning the room for the teacher, he walked over to the two and purposely interrupted Rhythmi in the middle of a sentence. "What's up this time, guys?"

Rhythmi glared at Keith, while Kate launched into an explanation. "I mentioned how Isaac's hair is so shockingly blonde, and Rhythmi said he had to have dyed it, and I said that I didn't think he was the kind of person to dye their hair. But then she tries to convince me that I would look cute as a blonde! Honestly, why would I want to dye my hair?"

"Because you'd look cuter, and I think it would suit your eye colour!" Rhythmi pouted.

Kate crossed her arms. "That has nothing to do with how I feel about my hair. I don't care about stupid eye colour harmony or whatever, and others might possibly find me good looking, but I'd hate it! I like myself how I am, and I'm not that cute now, am I?" Kate glared at Rhythmi, daring hr to answer, but it was Keith who kept the conversation going - sort of.

"Yes, you are," Keith said before he could stop the words. "You're plenty cute."

There was silence as the three registered the words. Then Rhythmi grinned, probably thinking of blackmail, and Keith...well, he freaked out. "Holy-! I-I didn't mean it like that, Kate! I just meant - you  
know - it isn't like that!" He fumbled over the words, his face heating up a minuscule amount every word as Kate slowly figured it out. Finally, he gave up and grumbled over to his seat when Kate's eyes widened and she stiffened.

Thirty seconds later, when Ms. April walked into the room, the other students rushed to their seats - and Kate was directly to his left. He mentally groaned at his mouth for forming those cursed words.

Later, when they finally got out of class, Keith was the last one out. As he exited the door, he was sharply pulled to the side.

"When you said I was cute, did you mean it, like...romantically?" Kate whispered nervously.

"Wha..." After realizing what had just happened, he said, "No. It- it was an accident. I'm just as embarrassed as you are."

She grinned. "Me? _Embarrassed?_ Idiot, you should know that I wasn't embarrassed. More surprised and nervous that you'd meant it, because that would've been awkward."

He sighed. "Now, if we could just get Rhythmi to forget about this..."

Kate's grin faded as she groaned. "Good luck with that. We're doomed; the whole school will know about it by dinner. Oh well, nothing we can do, unless...maybe I can stop her from telling more people. See you later, Keith!" Kate yelled, running out the front doors into the snowy wonderland that winter had made of the grounds.

_Huh. She's the idiot if she believes that Rhythmi can be stopped when she's on a mission._ Keith headed towards the doors as well. _On the other hand, we're desperate to be saved from embarrassment - well, in my case. The never-caught-blushing-or-embarrassed wonder will be annoyed and angry._

_I hope she has the right words to stop her before it's too late..._

_

* * *

_**Meh. A bit choppy, in my opinion, but it's done!**

**Blazie  
**


	3. Cap

Cap

If there was one thing that Kate hated about Ranger School, it was lined pieces of paper. Lined paper meant notes. Note-taking lessons were by far the most dreary ones known to her. Sure, she dutifully copied down everything on the board, but however hard Ms. April tried to make them interesting, it didn't cut it. But she didn't dare doodle on her notes as Rhythmi took to doing; she wanted to be sure that she got everything down and that she could read every letter on her page.

As she glanced up to look at the next words on the board, she caught a glimpse of Keith, doing the same thing before quietly writing the words on his page. It was so unlike him, but Kate expected him to be in a bad mood. They were angry at each other. Kate hadn't let Keith study off of her notes, because she never did, but while he had been trying to take them from her grasp, he had ripped them up badly. Kate had blown up at him, and most knew that being at the receiving end of Kate's wrath wasn't pleasant. She would have forgiven him after a day if he would have just said sorry, but no. Keith had yelled about how she was more concerned with school than friends, and stalked off. The two had been on bad terms since.

She put her pen onto her desk and used white-out to erase something she had written wrong. While moving her hand to put the wand back into the container, she accidentally hit her pen, causing it to skid across the join of desks, inches from Keith's nose, before halting at the farthest edge of Keith's desk. "Shoot," she muttered, then whispered louder, "Keith? Pass me my pen?"

He didn't respond, and when she repeated the request, he muttered, "Why should I?" not even glancing in her direction.

"What do you mean?" she hissed. "I need it to take notes, and without notes, I can't do well on the next test!"

"Well maybe now you know how I feel, not having notes!" he hissed back.

"That was your own fault, for not taking them in the first place!"

"Whatever." Keith looked up at the board and wrote a few more words down, ignoring her.

"B-But...I need it! I can't write with this stupid pen cap!" She whispered harshly, waving said cap in front of his nose. She was met with silence and an eye roll. "Keith, if you don't give it back, so help me I'll-"

"What, circle me with your styler?" He snorted. "Yeah, real threatening." For that, he got a sharp poke on the forehead from the end of the cap.

"Give. Me. The. Pen."

"No."

Kate pushed him in anger, trying to get him off balance and convince him that she was desperate. Keith ended up on the floor, but not for long, standing up and pushing her back. She yelled and grabbed him, bringing Keith to the floor with her. This would have continued if not for the disappointed command, "Get up off of the floor, both of you," said by Ms. April.

--

The room was quiet. The classroom had long since been abandoned by most of its usual inhabitants, and the ones remaining were in no mood to talk; especially not to each other. But Keith was willing to pass notes, like the one he put on Kate's desk to let his feelings be known:_ Thanks a lot for getting us in detention, Smartie!_

She scowled and wrote a response. _It's your fault for not letting me have my pen! And don't call me Smartie!_

_Well, Smartie, maybe you need a break from being perfect so you can see how normal people do schoolwork - by helping each other!_

Kate groaned. "I am not perfect, I don't need to stop being me, and it's not fair for you to have an annoying nickname for me if I don't have one for you!"

"Well, there's no nickname that could ever summarize the great Ke-" Kate whacked him gently on the back of the head.

"Your ego is bigger than your brain. I don't see what else could explain you."

Keith frowned at her. "What are you gonna name me based on that? Sir Vanity?"

The corners of Kate's mouth twitched. She pressed her lips together for a moment before relaxing and letting loose a string of subdued giggles. "No. I'll have to think of something positive. I'm not giving my friend a stupid nickname like that."

"Friend? So you suddenly don't hate me anymore?"

"I never hated you. You just never apologized. And if you do it again, then I just might consider Sir Vanity." The two burst out laughing.


	4. Doll

Doll

"What _happened_ to you?" Keith asked in disbelief.

"Rhythmi."

"Should have known." Who else could have forced Kate into a floor-length emerald gown, clip-on earrings, and heels? And her hair was even straightened! He was amazed at the older girl's ability to perform miracles when it came to being girly. And transforming Kate was a huge miracle.

"Please say we can stay in the corner for the party," Kate said miserably.

"Sorry, Smartie. The point of this thing is to socialize. And if nobody sees you like this, they won't believe me."

Kate groaned as they entered the throng of Rangers, Operators, and Mechanics; all dressed up for Chairperson Erma's birthday ball. She used her hair as a curtain to hide her face. The entry hall was packed, with music blaring - well, not blaring, although it seemed a bit too loud to Keith. The counters in the back corners of the room were being used as snack bars, and that was where Kate pulled Keith. Her face lit up at the sight of baguettes and chocolate on the same table.

"Kate," Keith intoned, "you have to go out there sooner or later, because I'm going to drag you out if I have to."

Kate swallowed a mouthful of bread. "I can't dance, and I don't want to. I feel like a stupid Barbie doll! All dressed up and nice, but stupid and Mary-Sue-ish and not like myself! I have an image to keep up."

Keith sighed, but, giving in for the moment, grabbed a glass and searched for a suitable drink.

--

Almost an hour later, the two had eaten and talked in an endless cycle, and almost everyone else was dancing, or had danced at least twice.

"Kate, as my date, I command you to come dance!"

Kate stared at him for a moment, then laughed. "Okay, first, this is a friendly date. And second, if we were real dates, I wouldn't listen to that."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Kate, you wouldn't listen to _anything _I said."

She nodded in assent. "True. And I will not dance. I've never seen Barbie dance, so it works fine for my Rhythmi-made character."

Keith made a sound of annoyance and said firmly, "Listen. You are nothing like a Barbie doll. You are a tough, tenacious, good-looking, bad-ass Ranger who's been granted a night of relaxation. So take the opportunity and _relax_ for once in your life!"

Kate blinked. "Okay," she said slowly. That was all the incentive Keith needed to grab her hand and pull her towards the center of the dance floor.

"Keith?" Kate hesitated, but quickly grinned. "Why'd you call me good-looking?"

He froze. "D-Did I say that? Ignore it. It was an accident."

She frowned. "Gee, thanks for calling me ugly."

"Huh? No, you're not! I mean, saying that makes it seem like - oh, never mind." By the end of the failed argument his face probably looked like a Slumga's in shade.

Kate looked a little confused, but smiled softly. "You get embarrassedat the strangest things, Wise Guy."

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**Yes, this was short. But the next one is long, and it's one of my favourites. And, on the bright side, I'm back in a writing mood!**

**Blazie  
**


	5. Everything

Everything

"So you two have known each other since Ranger School?" Reporter Hans asked.

Keith nodded. "Two and a half years."

Kate grinned. "And even though you joined the school first, I captured that Tangrowth faster than you."

"You know what? Shut up."

"I can see that the two of you are also rivals."

"Are you kidding?" Kate said. "On my first day, a bunch of Bidoof escaped, and he challenged me to see who could capture the most!"

Hans had come to the Ranger Union to interview the new Top Rangers while he had the chance - that is, while they weren't off helping Almia. So far he had covered themselves and their families, and he was finishing up on the Ranger School.

"And does that rivalry continue as Top Rangers?" Hans asked eagerly. The three were in the room on the side of the second floor closest to the 'down' stairs. Kate forgot what the official name was, but it was mainly used as a lounge-like break room.

The pair looked at each other, then answered simultaneously, "Sort of." They blinked, and Keith motioned for Kate to be the one to continue. "We subconsciously compare ourselves to each other, I suppose, and playfully boast and compete, but when it gets down to it, we have to work together or we're not true Rangers; much less Top Rangers." She looked to Keith, who nodded in agreement.

Hans nodded. "Okay this question is kind of boring and predictable, but what is the best part of being a Top Ranger?"

"Everything." The two eyed each other, and Kate fumed, "Stop saying the same things I'm saying! We look stupid!"

"Well, considering that A)we say what we think, B)we think alike on a lot of things, and C)I'm no mind reader, your request is impossible, Smartie."

"Smartie? Is that your nickname, Kate?"

"Not you too! Keith! Every time we meet someone you use the nickname and they start using it too!"

Keith smirked. "You're fine with it when Barlow, or Murph, or anyone at all calls you that, unless it's me."

"That's because you're annoying and you say it to tease me."

"So does Barlow."

"Yes, but he isn't set on annoying me half of the time we're not on a Mission!"

Hans cleared his throat nervously. "Back to the question?"

"Oh." The Rangers snapped out of their dispute and Keith answered, "The people, the Fine Stylers, the bigger Missions, the ability to assign them to yourself, the food...it's all good."

"What about reuniting with your old friends Kate and Rhythmi from school?" Kate demanded.

"Uh, that too," Keith added quickly.

"In that case, my answer is the same, replacing the word 'Kate' with 'Keith'."

"Yeah, like we couldn't figure that out for ourselves."

"With a brain the size of yours, Wise Guy, I'm not sure that you could."

Keith hit her with a pillow.

* * *

**Good news=double update. Bad news=not knowing how to end it. I lied. The super long chapter is the NEXT one. (I really need to get my alphabet in order.) The next one will probably be pretty long, but have another flippity-flop ending. **

**07/15/2009: I changed it slightly. The 'fight scene' isn't as funny (in my opinion), but it was necessary to go with a bunch of ideas in my head, even though I might not write them down. Yes, I like stuff to match up.  
**

**Until then, Blazie  
**


	6. Fire

Fire

The whirring helicopter blades slowed to a stop. Shel pressed his shielded head against my leg, and Keith's partner, Zei, sat behind me, chittering nervously and quickly. I eyed the sliding door bearing the Dim Sun logo as it opened to reveal a man who looked bigger (and possibly stronger) than even Barlow, although I was sure that Big Bertha could top both. The man had dark skin, like an overdone tan, and the contrast to the bright honey-blond hair on his head was startling.

"'Hoy, Kate!" he called from his elevated position. I felt a nagging familiarity at the deep, cheerful voice, but the man was a complete stranger. "Good job! You get Yellow Gem!"

He knew my name, and he obviously had expected me to get the gem. But even if he was part of Team Dim Sun, he shouldn't have known that I would be here.

"But...very dumb for you, following silly vicemail all long way out here to big Haruba Desert." Mew, no. It was him who had so badly impersonated Keith?

"I imitating Keith good? Mimic like he was me, yes? But too bad for you; Team Dim Sun, I am in! More, more, more, I am one of boss' favourites, the Sinis Trio!"

The man jumped out of the helicopter; I gripped the crescent-shaped crystal harder.

"My name, it is not Keith! Heath it is! How you like that?!"

Finally having simultaneous nerve and opportunity, I put in my own two cents, saying coldly, "I don't. Where's Keith?"

He laughed - it was a deep hearty one, suggesting extreme confidence, which he was certainly entitled to. "I tell you. First! I think to myself, 'Get the Yellow Gem myself I will!' But there be a Pokemon, Cresselia, being guardian to that rock. Then, along come a Ranger, kind of happy, kind of go lucky. Surprise, surprise! He try to capturing Cresselia! I think to myself, 'Good chance for me! He capturing Pokemon, I getting rock!' But that Ranger, Keith, he no good! Failure capturing Cresselia!"

"Keith is plenty good, you kidnapper! Where-"

"Irritating to see it make me, but then flash! I have inspiration come to me," Heath continued, ignoring me. "Rumors I am hearing of a very skillful Ranger named Kate. I think to myself, 'Reel in Kate I will do with friend-o Keith act as bait.' So! I send you fake vicemail! Gahahahaha!"

I still couldn't think of anything to say, other than single sentences like, "An obviously fake 'vicemail', yes."

"So, now you understand? The Yellow Gem, you give me now."

I rolled my eyes. "No. You really think I'd give this up to you?

Heath smirked, something that had been uncharacteristic in my mind until I saw it on his face. Suddenly it seemed to completely suit him. "Of course, I am fair. I trade you something for rock. I give you your friend, quite important, and I take Yellow Gem. Fair deal!"

A Dim Sun goon came into view inside the helicopter, dragging an almost-seventeen boy with him. His red-brown hair stuck up almost like an Afro, but the layers and general messiness of it disproved that idea. His muted hazel eyes caught mine, took in the situation, and narrowed. He yelled something; it was made ineffective by the gag tied around his mouth, and any body movements were stemmed by the thick coils of rope tied around his torso, arms, and thighs.

"Keith!" I yelled. Shel and Zei made exclamations as well, but I beat the Shieldon and Buizel to making a mad dash for our friend.

Then next thing I knew, I was sprawled out on the rough walkway. The gem had protected half of my upper body, but my right arm and both legs were dragged across the floor by my momentum. Then Heath quickly hauled me up and set me down in a position in which he blocked my view of the helicopter.

"Silly Kate. Maybe brave, but smart, not so much." I fumed at him, but remembering Keith, I clenched my jaw in frustration, in worry. Heath smiled evilly. "Yellow Gem for blue-face Keith. You make trade, yes?"

No. I couldn't. There was too much at stake. I conveyed this with a shake if my head.

"Oh? You not care about Keith? Not a very good friend?" _No! I care! I do! But...the Pokemon...is it worth it?_ "I ask again. You make trade?"

Craning my head to peek at Keith, I saw that he looked absolutely miserable, standing there, reduced to sending me glares and shaking his head. Trying to be brave and chivalrous. I couldn't leave him. They could do anything to him at their base, and he could get hurt. _Like me, when I was left to myself recently._

Finally, closing my eyes and praying that Chairperson Erma wouldn't think badly of me, I nodded.

"Ah, very well! Smart is your deciding!" The Yellow Gem was wrenched from my grasp, and when I had mustered the nerve to look, Heath was already in the helicopter. It began to rise until the occupants' feet were half of a foot above my head.

I approached the hovering hunk of metal. "Wait. Heath. I get Keith. Now."

He shrugged. "Okay, you take Keith back. You no drop him. Catch."

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with an immobile Keith lying on top of my stomach. I gasped in pain and scrunched my eyes shut, hurriedly pushing Keith off of me.

"I give you bonus, too," Heath continued. "Generous of me, yes? Catch!"

Looking up, I widened my eyes as a Magnezone fell from the helicopter. The helicopter rose, giving me more room to push Keith out of danger and follow. I launched my capture disc, and, with some assistance from Shel, captured the Magnezone efficiently.

Finally, I had the opportunity to sit down and rest. I grabbed the water bottle strapped into my belt and greedily downed quite a few mouthfuls before I heard Keith clear his throat impatiently.

"Sorry," I said quietly, putting away the water. I pulled the gag off and out of Keith's mouth, but he was silent as I freed him from the tight ropes. Zei walked over to him and nuzzled his neck. I'd forgotten about her in all of the confusion.

"Sorry," I repeated.

"What're you saying sorry _again_ for?" he mumbled. He rubbed his jaw and shook out his arms to get some blood circulation going.

I blinked before rolling my eyes. "Oh, I don't know, losing the Yellow Gem just because Heath was holding you hostage? Not that I think you're worthless," I added hastily.

Keith took his gaze from the ground to me. "You should." My appalled stare seemed to drive more words from his mouth. "I couldn't capture Cresselia. Heath captured me. It's completely my fault that the Mission was a failure. The stupid heat must've affected my brain..."

"The heat?" I growled, forgetting my concern and standing up. "You have no idea!" I fumed, glaring down at him.

Keith carefully got to his feet to tower over me by the ten-and-an-eighth inches we'd measured by Rhythmi's prompting only a week or so ago. "Kate, cool down, okay? What-"

His choice of words only infuriated me more in my impulsive rage. "Cool down? Do you know how much I've wanted to cool down in the last few days? After going through Boyle Volcano, and then coming all the way here swimming in the ocean and riding boats and exploring hideouts and traveling through the desert?"

He blinked, then put a light hand on my shoulder. "Anyone would want to cool-"

"You have no idea!" I screeched. "Just shut up!" With the final syllable, I brought my hands back; my right hand punched him in the jaw as my left shoved him to the ground. The result was an incredulous Keith wincing up at me, one palm cupping his jaw. And one burning left arm on my part.

Zei ran up to me and started yelling and scolding. Shel broke out of his happy-go-lucky character to do the same.

I stared at my handiwork, listening to the Pokemon, slowly coming to my senses. My eyelids opened a fraction wider than normal. "OhmyMew. Oh, Mew, I did not just do that. I'm sorry; I'm so, so sorry, Keith."

He stood up cautiously and touched my left arm, as if noticing it for the first time. And perhaps it was his first time that day noticing the gauze strips wrapped around the whole left side of my body from shoulder to toe, continuing beneath my altered Ranger uniform.

"Kate..." Keith looked from my arm to my face, as if searching it for a hint as to what had happened to me. He hesitated. I took the opportunity to brush him away and mutter, "Don't."

I trembled. I'd hit Keith. I'd let my anger turn me into a jerk. I'd failed my most important Mission yet.

Failure was my one huge fear.

I struggled to control my breathing as a tiny tear flowed down my cheek and my fists clenched. I quickly unclenched them at the pain in my left hand. A sound escaped me that could have passed for a sob, and then Keith's arms were around me and I sagged against him and let him hold me up, because I suddenly didn't mind anymore.

When I surfaced from my out-of-character moment, I was sitting on the ledge that kept passers-by from falling into the flowing underground river. Keith was on my left, carefully supporting me with an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him.

This realization caused me to quickly push Keith away. "Sorry," I said for the fifth time in as many minutes. I noticed Shel and Zei watching me. I briefly stroked Shel's headplate for a moment. "Go and play, you two. I'm fine." They complied, seeming to instantly forget about me on my orders.

Keith contemplated me. "Did all of that stuff you said really happen?"

I sighed. I could elaborate now, or be pestered by questions later. I made the decision without really thinking through it. "That was the extremely abridged version. It skipped most of the important parts."

"Like..." He trailed off, gesturing towards my arm.

I nodded. "A Rhydon attacked me in Boyle Volcano, which wouldn't have given me more than a scrape if I hadn't been navigating through a field of active flame geysers."

"You got pushed into one?"

"I...accidentally landed on it when I jumped out of the way," I admitted grudgingly. Oh, how I was regretting deciding to elaborate! I realized that I didn't want to tell him every single thing that happened - too tedious, too hard to see his face look so reprimanding or concerned...and too...social. Not my forte, not my favourite.

Keith winced. "How did you get the Red Gem if that happened to you?"

_Oh, Mew. Here goes nothing._ "I..crawled over to a safe spot, although my torso and left elbow got a bit more scorched on the way, and when I was safe I just...stopped. I couldn't really...do anything. But finally I somehow made myself get up. I knew that there were Dim Sun goons in the volcano, and they couldn't be allowed to get it. I continued, but on another floor I kept getting attacked and hit by Rhydon and Aggron and I just..._cracked_. I called Rhythmi and begged for backup.

"Some Dim Suns spotted me, so I battled them. Then I figured I had might as well see how much good I could do in my state. I drove away the second of the boss' favourites, but I kept going until I got to Heatran. I tried to capture him, but when Wendy arrived I had already given up and was cowering in a corner. She got close to capturing him, but started having trouble, so I finished it for her. Heatran gave me the gem, and it...made the pain numb and gave me some strength until I got back. Then I handed over the gem...and collapsed."

Keith looked pale. "Oh," he said faintly. "And...what was that about boats and swimming and hideouts?"

I turned away and looked up at the ceiling. "The next day, I was mostly up and walking, and they were getting worried about you, so I volunteered to come."

"And they let you?"

"I convinced them that I would go help my friend even if they said I couldn't. They had no good points on their side."

"Yes, except for the fact that you had _burned half of your body _a _day_ ago!"_ I don't care about that kind of stuff, Keith. Haven't you noticed in the, what, two and a half years you've known me?_ I shrugged, then grimaced at the ache in my shoulder. He rolled his eyes and continued, "So you got on a boat?"

"Until it got stopped by a Wailord."

"Wha- You know what? I don't even want to know."

I bit my lip. _Damn him for making all of this explaining, all of this talking, worse._ "I think you do, because that's when I jumped in and decided to save it from Team Dim Sun. I learned that salt water and fresh burns _don't_ cooperate."

He stared at me a moment, then put his hands on his forehead and leaned on them. "Arceus, Smartie, when will you learn to think of yourself?"

"I do. I think of how I'll feel if someone gets hurt or disappointed because I wimped out and didn't go rescue them. And the worst part's over for me. The Wailord took me to an underwater oil field to chase a stolen Wailmer, and I met up with Sven and we destroyed the hideout after recovering Shel, who got stolen near the beginning of our exploration. Also, we found out that Kincaid-" I spat the name- "is a dirty _rat_ who tricked Isaac into making Miniremos and other Dim Sun stuff. Then-"

"What? Isaac," Keith said, sitting up. "Really?" I nodded. "He was always so nice...poor guy. Is he back at the Union?"

"Yes. After that I came here. Your turn to talk, I'm sick of it." I was relieved to be able to be quiet and simply listen to something less dramatic.

"You know what happened."

"It's like my story. I have the gist, but details would probably give me some insight." I was starting to get tired, so I lowered myself to the floor and leaned against the ledge.

Keith followed my lead, sitting on the stone walkway. "What if I don't _want _you to hear the details?"

I sighed. "Idiot. You don't think I was worried about telling you about my mistakes and things I knew you wouldn't be happy to hear, and trying to explain why I did those things in the first place?"

"Point made. Well, I came here, but Cresselia was too hard. I realized just in time that my styler was nearly dead, so I fled and tried to find a recharge Pokemon. Heath caught me off guard and tied me up on my way back, though, and he took my styler. Zei got away. Heath covered the styler screen with paper so you wouldn't be able to see him and he called you something like five times in the two days it took you to get here."

"That's what happened! I knew your screen couldn't have been broken!" I exclaimed, happy to know something I previously hadn't.

"The whole time I felt like an idiot because I was sitting right across the helicopter, but I couldn't yell loud enough for you to hear me because of the gag. Then you came. There, pointless story finished."

I looked at him closely. "You look too depressed. Where's the real Keith, and what have you done with him?"

He chuckled flatly. "He's taking a break in light of recent depressing events. It'll take a while for him to bounce back this time."

"The idiot. Tell him he has friends to count on to help him bounce back. He's not the only person in the universe."

He smiled. "I'll tell him. But...I want to go back to the Union by myself. I'm embarrassed. I need to think." Keith stood up and stretched, as if the conversation was over. Zei immediately scampered over and waited to go.

I rolled my eyes, and, with some difficulty, rose to grab his arm. "So you're going to ignore what I said about ten seconds ago, Wise Guy?"

He sighed in mock relief. "Oh, good. I thought that my new nickname was 'Idiot' for a while there."

"Keith! I don't want to go back alone after all of this, and I think you're being stupid. You can talk to me, you know."

"Listen-" He hesitated. Then he pulled me into a hug - my eye level just millimeters over his shoulder. "If you don't get as sidetracked as you did on the way here, you should be able to get back by eleven. Don't worry about me; I won't get captured again. And sometimes talking is overrated, Smartie." There was a pause. Suddenly my spine tingled. He let go of me and stepped back.

"Ah...see you tomorrow, Smartie."

I watched Keith run - nearly sprint - over to the circle of light that marked a teleportation area. Only when he and Zei had gone did I dare to brush my fingers against my forehead. Had he really been so naive as to think I wouldn't feel him quickly place his lips on the part in my bangs, light as a breeze? Or perhaps he had realized it, that being the reason for his hasty departure? The memory made my heart skip a beat, and my spine tingled again.

I shook my head to clear it, grateful for the thick, loose strands of hair on either side of my face that hit me and brought me to my senses. I didn't like that odd feeling. I couldn't identify it. I only had a few suspicions about why he had...why he had done it...and all of them scared me. Which was why I shouldn't have been dwelling on it.

I felt something nudge my leg. Shel. "You want to go back?" I whispered.

He nodded, "Don."

"Okay. Let's go." I smiled. "And we'll work on the problem of Keith as soon as we're rested."

* * *

**Hi. I finished the super long one! Yay! I'm happy with it, but maybe that's because it's 3:42AM where I am. Meh, at least it's done. I copied Heath's dialogue from the game because it's hard to copy, and there are three absolutely priceless quotes:**

**"Then, along come a Ranger, kind of happy, kind of go lucky."**

**"Irritating to see it make me, but then flash! I have inspiration come to me."**

**"I think to myself, 'Reel in Kate I will do with friend-o Keith act as bait.'"**

**And for those of you who read Dawn of the Inferno (my PMD2 story that I literally haven't updated in five months), the next chapter is actually being finished now. Expect it soon - and I am dead serious. Promise!**

**Blazie  
**


	7. Girl

Girl

Kate exited the girls' washroom. Her hair was falling out of her one remaining spoinktail. She sighed, pulled the hair tie out, and made to go through the horribly pink door of the girls' dorm.

"Kate?" A drowsy voice called. She froze. Someone had seen her. "Hey, Kate, what's with your hair? Come over here so I can see!"

Oh. Keith. Great.

Kate crossed the room, passing a set of couches and a long table with comfortable chairs lining the edges, taking her time until she finally reached a second, identical set of squishy red couches. On the one facing her sat Keith, propped up in a corner like he had been trying to sleep.

His eyes were wide.

"Keith, if you breathe a word-"

"But Kate-" He paused. "Kate, you have your hair down! It looks good! I bet I'm the only one in ARS to see this, ever!" He thought a moment. "And...not to say you normally look like a boy, but you look like a proper girl."

"Which is why I keep my hair up," she snarled. "I have an-"

"Image to keep up, I know," finished Keith. "Kate, sit down. You've been obsessing over the finals; you haven't talked to me properly in days. This is as good an opportunity as any other. Sit," he ordered at the girl's hesitation.

"Why the heck do you not want to look nice once in a while? I mean, this hairdo looks just as good as your spoinktails."

Kate haughtily shook her chin-length hair out and put it back up with her hair ties. "Because it gets in the way."

"Your bangs don't seem to bother you. And you purposely leave some hair near the front out. That counts as annoying too, doesn't it?"

Kate groaned and fell back to lie down the length of the couch. "I don't like to be underestimated because I'm a girl. I want people to look at me and consider me properly for any job they ask, because they know I'll do it."

"And you think your hair will say that? Kate, aren't those things usually judged by past experience and you yourself?" Keith lay down as well to face her. "Stop making up excuses."

Kate stared defiantly at the ceiling. "They're not excuses. They're all little bits that add up."

"They add up and leave a big hole in the middle, sure."

"What if I told you I don't want to look pretty?"

"You…what?" Keith hadn't really expected her to give in so easily. "Changing your hairstyle doesn't change your face and your level of beauty. It affects it, but it doesn't-"

"That's just it! I don't want it to be affected! I don't want the first thing older Rangers to notice to be my face, or my hair, or my body! I want them to notice the hardworking Ranger named Kate who does her best and knows her facts! And I don't want people to judge me! I like my hairstyle how it is right now, out of the way and practical. And…I don't…I don't like it when people compliment me on my looks or say how I should wear my hair down more often, and…it's just so Mewdamned annoying and- and-" she faltered. There was a long silence.

"_Embarrassing._"

Keith inwardly gasped; to do so out loud would drive Kate away. "Embarrassed?" he said, afraid to say anything that would spark her temper.

She nodded listlessly. He didn't express his surprise, or remind her that she was the girl who was rumoured to never have blushed in her life, who avoided doing crazy things not because they were embarrassing, but because they were stupid, or pointless, or would make them look unprofessional, or something other than embarrassment.

To Keith, this was like discovering that mythical living creatures other than humans and Pokemon actually existed.

The two sat quietly, occasionally glancing up at each other. Finally, after an infinite amount of time (or so it seemed), Kate stiffly stood up. "If you tell a single soul a word about this conversation or meeting, I'll kill you. Slowly. So keep your mouth_ shut_."

"Even to Rhythmi?"

"_Especially_ near Rhythmi. And just for the record, you are such a girl whenever I bring up hair and feelings," she added to cheer herself up. It worked; Keith sputtered and his face grew red.

Kate laughed quietly. "Thanks for the help. 'Night, Oprah."


	8. Hell

Hell

"Hey, Kate."

The girl sitting in a navy blue beanbag chair looked up and grinned wryly at the hatted Top Ranger before her. "Finally got away?"

The man groaned. "Yup. It's just like with what happened with you and Keith. Pure hell."

"Oh, I don't know, Sven," Kate said. "I think we had it worse. Everyone had been pressuring us since the Darkrai mission-"

"'Everyone' being Rhythmi and Linda."

"Well, yes, them and Wendy. And when we did, it only got worse. Remember that time we just went and stayed a few days in Pueltown with our Stylers turned off, and we told nobody where we were except Chairperson Erma and Professor Hastings?"

Sven, who has seated himself on a beanbag of lime green, grinned. "Yeah. Those three were mad at you." He faltered. "Man. Just because you decide to get together with the person you like, your life turns to hell."

"You mentioned that."

"How do you manage it, Kate?

"Hmm?"

"Don't play stupid, I know you want me to suffer just like you did…."

She laughed. "Fine. Basically, stay away from the crazy people. If you're going to hang out, so so in your room, on patrol, or somewhere else very private. And turn your Stylers off; Linda is a sneaky master of communication."

Sven laughed. "Speaking from firsthand experience?"

Kate sighed. "Hey, leave your Stylers on for all I care. Have fun when you're having a private moment with Wendy and glance down only to find the entire female staff of the Union stalking you through your screens."

"…And you're saying that happened to you and Keith?"

Kate looked smug. "We chewed them out so much for that; they gave up on all teasing for a few days. By the time they were back at it, we had figured we'd better turn our Stylers off on the next date."

She suddenly turned more serious. "Sven, it sucks to be interrupted. Everything's nice, and then they barge in, and after that everything is just…awkward for a while. I suggest you avoid all female staff excepting Chairperson Erma, Wendy and I."

"Uh…thanks?"

"Trust me, that 'thanks' will contain no sarcasm in a few weeks."

* * *

**Yay, double update! I'm not as happy with this, but after I started it kept getting harder to continue the conversation, so...**

**My poll is new and important, for anyone who is interested in PMD2. Be there or be square!**

**Blazie  
**


	9. Idiosyncrasy

_Idiosyncrasy: a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual._

_Okay, I misinterpreted it as being 'odd for an individual', not 'a behaviour unique to a person'. Please bear that in mind. ^^;  
_

* * *

Idiosyncrasy

Sven had just overpowered the boy with a mushroom cut when Kate burst into the room. Her face was red and showed evidence of tears. That in itself meant bad news. She also had appeared without Shel. That, too, was bad. And the widening of her eyes and incredulous, confused rasp of "Isaac?" didn't really help the situation. The boy widened his eyes and said, just as surprised, "Kate?"

"Kate," Sven said, trying not to sound confused, "I managed to catch this kid scientist, and I got some blueprints from-"

A Dim Sun goon burst through the door, saw the kid, and yelled, "Professor Isaac! I'll save you!" He set up his Miniremo and called upon two Mr. Mime. Kate automatically began the capture, and Sven decided to let her finish it alone. She was circling the Pokemon with a vengeance, a hatred that seemed personal. Assuming that she had not in fact met these particular Pokemon before, Sven deduced that whatever had happened that made Shel disappear—which was likely to be what had Kate all distraught—had something to do with Team Dim Sun.

Of course, that was obvious, as they were in the team's Oil Field Hideout, surrounded by members and Pokemon of the team. But Sven didn't really care how obvious it was; he was glad that he was still able to piece together people's actions and statements to figure out the meaning behind it all.

When the capture ended, the minion looked from Ranger to Ranger to boy. "Uh…Professor! Wait for a chance, then make a break for it, like this!" He then expertly demonstrated how to 'make a break for it'. He and Kate let him go; without their gadgets the idiots were practically harmless.

"Kate…" he finally addressed. "You know this kid?"

"Of course!" the kid—Isaac—answered, facing Sven with a hint of admiration. The guy had just got 'captured' and 'mugged' by the Top Ranger, for lack of better terms, yet he still looked up to him. _Nice. _"I was in the class across the hall from her at the Almia Ranger School! We graduated together!"

Well, that complicated things. "How'd you end up here, then?" Sven asked incredulously. The Almia Ranger School was a respectable place, not somewhere they trained kids to work for crime syndicates!

"Mr. Kincaid got me a job for Altru," Isaac explained cheerfully, "so I got to come down here, where they make their items for promoting friendship between people and Pokemon! It really is a nice facility, although there are quite a lot of security measures…"

And that's when the situation got complicated. Because the kid was oblivious to the harm the team had caused. Exchanging an apprehensive look with Kate, the latter said slowly, "I think you should go back to the Ranger Union with us, Isaac."

The younger boy lit up his face with an enormous grin. "That sounds amazing! Really, I don't care where I go as long as I have the resources to learn! But-" He faltered a moment, then spoke with authority. "I want to say goodbye to Mr. Kincaid. Make sure loose ends are tied off. It's the least I can do, considering all he's done for me."

Sven grinned, having heard the story of the Cargo Ship and knowing the villain behind it. "Well, we'll have to pay a visit to Kincaid. Would you show us to his quarters?"

Isaac nodded. "Sure. This way." He made to go, but Sven stopped him with an outstretched arm.

"Hold up. Kate, where's Shel, and what's with the bandages?"

Kate's gaze wavered in strength. "Shel…I walked into a room and I got pushed out after a second, but Shel got left inside and they locked the door." She paused and took a deep breath. "I tried. I tried really hard to get him back, but even crawling through this side opening didn't work! They just pushed me out again. I...let's go."

Sven watched her walk for a moment. "If she cracks, the world as we know it will end..."

* * *

After slugging their way through what seemed like legions of goons and minions (not that there was a difference), there had been no sign of Kate's Shieldon partner or Mr. Kincaid. After interrupting a small group of Dim Suns that insisted that they weren't going to hamper the Rangers' progress, the latter headed through an automatic door and stopped in the following clear tube providing a dark view of the ocean around them. Kate's Styler suddenly beeped twice, startling the three in the dead silence, and causing them to crowd around Kate's arm to see the words 'Sender: Keith Dumiere; Top Ranger' pop up in the bottom right corner of the small screen.

"Where's the live view?" Kate hissed. "Is my Styler broken or something?"

"Voicemail! Voicemail!" the speakers said impatiently. "'Hoy, Kate, it's me, Keith!"

"Keith!" Kate cried as the voice was identified. "We've been worried! Why can't I see you? Did you get the crystal?"

"Get it, I couldn't. Screen got cracked, so bam! No picture. But Kate! Just now I remember very important mash-up I must do! You must come quickly and over-take for me! Hurry, hurry! I'm in temple in the big Haruba Desert!"

Kate was silent a moment before muttering, "This better be good." She turned off the connection before growling, "At first it was just idiosyncratic. But after about ten more seconds, it became so much so that it was obviously not Keith! Let's hurry so I can get there—now, if you're done staring."

Sven was indeed staring, dumbfounded. "Idiosyncratic?" he managed.

The girl snorted. "Don't tell me you've never read a dictionary." She grabbed Isaac's arm and pulled him, much to his protests, down the tube-hall towards a large sliding door.

Sven had, probably to Kate's surprise, read quite a few dictionaries in his time. It was the small ways, like this, that the two were alike. It was probably that which drove Kate away from him occasionally; she didn't know how to associate with someone who partially understood her. Of course, then there was Keith, who knew her inside and out, and annoyed her to death, but that was different. He annoyed her and pushed her buttons, so she blew him off like she did for most others.

Keith. That hadn't been Keith. Sven did know the meaning of idiosyncratic, and it was starting to apply to his entire day. Dim Sun recruiting an innocent, oblivious kid, Kate crying and knowing said kid, and now knowing that it hadn't been Keith in the voicemail—not to mention the impersonator himself. If he was the kind of person who liked to pick a word of the day, it was definitely 'idiosyncrasy'.

But his only, teasing response to her demands was: "You know, if you can identify it that easily and want to go rushing to his rescue, doesn't it prove you do like him?" He was met with one of those icy glares that the girl was famous for, and hastened to follow her and _shut up_.

* * *

_Hi. So this isn't my best work. The plot's half-decent, but some of the technical writing isn't too great. Eh, it's up, and that cheers me up. Nope, I'm not dead. Just so you all know, I revamped a lot of the old chapters, some only a few words, some a whole lot. I nearly doubled the length of Blonde. So if you have time, read through the stuff before Fire._

_As a side note, I'll mention (again) that I'm working on an AU PMD2 fic. I've never seen it done quite like this before, so...yeah. If you're interested, check it out on my profile. And then vote, because I'm close to deciding on the romance part._

_Blazie  
_


	10. Jumble

**Jumble**

Students gathered around the sight: the second-youngest student in the school shrieking at the most proficient one - after the former, of course. She stood protectively over a leather book bag, the clasp of which had come undone and allowed its contents to spill across the floor. Although they would never let the hysterical student know, a large number of the gathered teens were placing bets on things that would seem ridiculous if it weren't Kate and Keith, from how long it would take Keith to regain his common sense and flee, to how badly Kate was going to beat him up when she broke free of Rhythmi's restraining grip on her shoulders.

"You idiot!" Kate screeched for the third time. "I spent all night on that paper, and you've gotten it trampled on! I have to reorganize my bag _and_ redo my homework now! How could you be so stupid?!"

The blonde beside her shook her head. Keith always seemed to find a way to anger the volcanic brunette in the worst ways possible. Sometimes it amazed her how the two always managed to reconcile (even if it took a few weeks). This would blow over easily - this time was actually an accident.

It had been a joke, Keith looking for a way to lighten the mood after the three had studied upstairs during their free time (at Kate's insistence). Grabbing her bag before she could stand, he had sprinted toward the stairs. "Bet you can't catch me!" he'd yelled excitedly.

Kate had immediately sprinted after him, saying, "Keith! That's all of my stuff! I swear, if there's a scratch on any of it when I get it back..."

Rhythmi had quickly followed, inclination to giggle winning over her desire to reprimand the prankster. While she wasn't one to take sides during Keith's pranks, she was glad to be doing something other than schoolwork. Homework was boring - enough said.

Anyways, if Kate got her hands on him then he'd have more than enough punishment on his hands.

Then, somehow, in a rare moment of klutziness, Keith had stumbled, cried out, and let go of the bag to grasp the railing of the stairs.

Kate had frozen in shock as the bag tumbled towards the bottom of the steps. The clasp flew undone, and various school supplies and binders scattered around the bag where it landed.

She only seemed to reanimate herself when a girl stepped on a piece of paper.

_'Reanimate' was an understatement_, Rhythmi thought. It had been more like an explosion. In mere seconds Kate had been scrambling to snatch up her papers and pencils, muttering curses and degrading names under her breath. These sounds only became loud enough to hear when she found a single piece of paper, torn and dirty. Then she had started spewing insults and protests as she was now.

"I've told you over and over not to touch my stuff! Why can't you just find the space in your head to actually consider doing what you're asked?" Kate said, at a slightly lower volume but full of malice. "Do you take pleasure in the discomfort of others? Is your brainpower really so limited that you find fulfillment in rebelling against everything? Or do you just not care that you always disappoint people when you don't listen, always hurt them?"

Keith was speechless.

No, most of that was pointless rambling, but he himself had no idea why he didn't listen to what people asked him to do. He was hardwired not to, he supposed...but he knew that disobeying usually got him in trouble.

No, no, _no!_ He was being brainwashed by her arguments! Keith couldn't let it happen.

He looked at Kate, who was spewing more hateful words. Cringing, he muttered, "I'm sorry," and ran.

Kate, having heard the tiny word, slowly cooled down. Suddenly her heart wasn't in the yelling and degrading comments. So she let him go, shaking her head, grabbing her bag and heading upstairs.

Thee wasn't a single pair of eyes looking anywhere but at her - and all of the gazes were of total, utter disbelief.

* * *

_Hey! Look! I'm alive!_

_Yeah, hi. Sorry for abandoning you guys; I'm glad to be writing again, and you probably are too, so it's win-win. Yay. Yep, it was kind of all-over-the-place-and-sudden-and-stuff but it's done. See you soon. (I promise this time.)_

_Blazie  
_


	11. Karma

**Karma**

She walked into the class, all of them older and taller, and she knew she could beat any of them at capturing easily after a week of learning. She wasn't cocky, it was a fact. The man - Mr. Kaplan - had seemed shocked that she had gotten the fastest time ever on the special entry exam - and had been disbelieving when she had reminded him that she hadn't actually _used _a Styler before; only watched them be used.

That was all she needed to know that she was going to do well here.

All of the students - about eight or so - were ogling her. Probably judging her already, writing her off. Ha. She was two years younger, but she wasn't going to let them intimidate her. No way was that happening. She would succeed, become a Top Ranger. And they would look at her in disbelief, never underestimating her again.

Of course, that wouldn't be too satisfying. It would be more so to be able to help the world and to be recognized. She wanted to be respected, recognized, and worthy of the title Top Ranger.

"As I mentioned a few days ago, we have a new student joining us from Fiore. I understand that she did exceptionally well on the entrance exam," Ms. April said.

She seemed nice enough. She had a pleasant voice and a smile that lit up the room. There was a motherly aura about her, which made the girl smile - slightly. Nobody could top her own mother, unfortunately.

The teacher continued cheerfully. "This is Kate, everyone. Please treat her as you would any other stundent, and I'm sure you'll get along!"

_Not likely._

Ms. April motioned for her to sit down at the only empty desk.

Kate eyed it, slowly walked over, and hesitated. The desks were set in pairs, and her partner was a boy with large reddish hair. His eyes were a dark brown almost-black colour and were almost good-looking, but the goofy grin on his face and laidback posture reversed the atmosphere. She could have gotten seated next to anyone else, but she was stuck with this guy. He obviously wasn't studious or hardworking; he hadn't paid much attention when Ms. April had introduced her and wasn't about to change his level of listening.

It had to be karma. She didn't know what she had done, exactly, but it must have been bad for this to happen.

This would be an interesting school year.

* * *

The new girl walked into the class. She didn't seem all that spectacular to him. Her hair was a plain brown, though it was admittedly nice and bright. Her eyes, although his favourite shade of blue, were narrowed slightly and showed traces of...pride? Superiority? Sure, she was twelve to his fourteen years and they were in the same year of school, but that didn't mean that she was too special. He could easily beat her at capturing.

She looked odd when Ms. April started introducing her - not bored, but uncomfortable; especially when the teacher mentioned her marks and "getting along."

The marks intrigued Keith. He'd never had much of a chance to have a rival in this school; he had a natural talent which others lacked. He was the top student in practical tests. And he knew his stuff when it came to written papers.

...Mostly.

...Kind of.

...Not really.

But who cared? Having someone to challenge him would be fun.

When she moved to sit down, he realized that the seat next to him was the only open one. They'd be sitting together - all year, probably.

Wait...she didn't know him. She didn't know all of the things he had done that had made the others roll their eyes and grow exasperated with him easily.

Keith had never had many friends. His ego and confidence had usually gotten in the way of that. He always bragged and taunted and was a sore loser.

What if he could change that?

He could make friends with this girl.

It had to be karma. He didn't know what she had done, exactly, but it must have been good for this to happen.

This would be an interesting school year.

* * *

_Yep, a double update. Hope you enjoyed!_

_Blazie  
_

The Theory of Everything


	12. Love

_Oh, man. This is painfully short and disconnected, and i turned into more of a ramble than a one-shot...but at least it's up, right?_

**

* * *

Love**

Sometimes he just didn't understand her.

She'd only had that Shieldon - Shel - for one Mission, _one,_ but he could tell that he was already her favourite. He'd known of her liking for Steel-types, but this? It was nearing ridiculousity. And no, he wasn't sure if that was a word.

She seemed to love all Pokemon that came across her path - the ones in danger, that is. Now, the ghosts in the ruins were a whole other story...

But somehow, when on patrol, she took all Quests, no matter how stupid. She carried them out without complaint, (well, not to the client's face,) and often went out of her way to finish as quickly as possible. And then she'd start another, if there was time in the day. She didn't get much in return - a smile, words of thanks, small Styler upgrades - but she seemed to thrive on her work.

He liked being a Ranger, too - saving people, getting in the newspaper, working with Pokemon...having friends. But Kate's feelings about her work - she seemed to positively _love _everything about her job. One wouldn't think so; she didn't smile too often, didn't laugh or gush about it. But she never complained - ever. A few times he had heard her mention her discomfort through a dry-humoured joke, but when he thought about it, Smartie complained more about not being able to do her job than about having to do the undesirable things.

Keith knew he would never be able to work like she did. Ever. Maybe that was a good thing; she was special, and if everyone worked like her, it wouldn't be special any more.

That was why he liked her; she was completely different from all of those around her. Well, maybe she and Sven were a little similar, what with their random definition-giving...But aside from that, he'd never met a person remotely like her in his life, and he knew he never would. That was kind of cool, in a way. He was one of the few people that got to be affected by her.

And she _had_ affected him. From the moment she'd walked into that classroom those years ago, he had started to change. She probably hadn't known it, then, but Keith knew that knowing her had changed him. And he knew how he had changed, and he liked how he had been changed. And he loved her for it.

What had he been thinking about? Right. Shel. He had to admit, the Pokemon was pretty cute, as Steel-types went. Still, he much preferred Zei. She was lithe and fast, and _she could spit jets of water._ If that wasn't awesome, he didn't know what was. Who cared about orbs of steel when you had handy water jets and bubbles?

"Morning, Wise Guy."

He looked up. She had timing like no other - possibly the worst. And - yep, Shel trotted along behind her happily. Kate scratched his head before looking back to Keith.

Maybe that was it. She saw in Shel what he saw in Zei. No - she saw in all Pokemon what he saw in Zei. Maybe that was why she loved her job.

Except for the ghosts. He smiled. At least they could agree on that...

* * *

_Blazie_


	13. Mephisto

_Whoo, a new chapter! This one is...disjointed and pointless and badly ended, but guess what? I don't care. =) I'm finished, and that is enough to make me very happy. Enjoy!_

**_

* * *

_**

Mephisto

"Okay, class, today we'll be learning about Dark-types! Now, what comes to mind when you think of Dark Pokemon?"

"Nighttime!"

"Ghosts!"

"They're scary!"

Ms. April surveyed her class. "Thank you for putting your hand up, Kate." She gave a pointed look to the rest of the class.

"Mephisto," Kate answered.

The class was silent. Some were trying to figure out what a Mephisto was, and some were just annoyed at her general smartness.

Kate looked around and continued, "It's an incarnation of the devil. You know, who..." She paused and looked around. Nobody seemed to care that much. "I give up. Continue."

Ms. April looked surprised at being given an order. She blinked a few times before saying, "Well, Dark-types have nothing to do with ghosts. Actually, their attacks are extra-effective on ghosts. But yes, many are either nocturnal or like to keep to the shadows."

_Like Mephisto. _Kate knew a bunch of the material already. Her handbook was a wealth of knowledge that she used to her advantage, unlike most of the students. She stacked up a few textbooks and propped her head up on them, her mind half-listening to Ms. April and picking out the important parts.

A neatly-folded post-it note was quietly placed on the textbook in front of her nose. Kate looked sideways at Keith. He was innocently looking at Ms. April - and, presumably, daydreaming. But, though he usually didn't fold it, of course the note had come from him. Every day he passed her a note. _Every. Day. _She worried that someday he'd get caught, and then maybe she'd get in trouble, too, because sometimes she knew the lesson so well that she was bored enough to respond.

It was entertaining, but she would have enjoyed it much more if he would call her by her name for once. Kate eyed the note in front of her, knowing that she would probably be called "Smartie" inside. She snorted, half exasperated and half amused.

That little bit of air sent the note flying off the textbook.

Kate lifted her head and reached out, but it was too late to stop the note from drifting off her desk and landing next to Ms. April's. She looked at Keith, who was staring at her in horror.

He leaned closer to her and whispered, "Rule number one of note passing: Never lose the note!"

Kate barely gave him a sideways glance, her eyes flicking between the note and Ms. April. She hadn't seemed to notice the flying paper, luckily, so Kate decided that she'd just pick it up after class. She wasn't going to get in trouble; after all, she hadn't responded. Ms. April wouldn't blame her for getting a piece of paper passed to her.

"We have to get it!" Keith whispered. He had every right to be worried. Ms. April knew his writing, and would probably sentence him to an afternoon in detention. Kate would have been glad to have left the paper there all day, though. "Kate. I'll steal your textbook, no lie. I can't afford another detention! Ms. April-"

"Keith? Kate?" the teacher called.

The two froze.

"Would you please pay attention?"

Kate turned her head and nodded vigorously. As soon as Ms. April started talking again, she kicked Keith and returned to her notes. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were Mephisto himself. Now shut it."

Five minutes later, he'd been given detention for lack of focus. Kate and Rhythmi, amused, hid around the corner and left the door open a crack after class. But when he explained himself, he told the truth - all of it - and at the end, he asked that Ms. April not punish Kate.

Suddenly, Kate didn't know she could have considered likening him to the devil.

* * *

_Blazie_


	14. Numb

_Hi. This is unedited and not very cohesive...but it was fun. Plus my writes block is gone. =D_

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* * *

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Numb

She wasn't sure how long it had been since saving the world. She wasn't sure of much. It was like her will had been stripped from her, and now she was a shell - a shell that was numb to the world.

Not even Keith had been able to get her to snap out of it. He'd told jokes and talked to her and squeezed her hand - but there was a heaviness on her heart that choked her throat when she might have laughed and shrunk her rare smiles so they were barely discernable. She thought that if the Union exploded around her she would remain in her chair, look around in vague surprise, and ignore it. It was hard to focus her mind on what she should have been doing. She just sat there and watched the Union staff hurry around. She only vaguely registered that every one of them gave her a concerned glance as they passed.

"Kate?"

It was Keith. Shel nuzzled his leg, and Keith absent-mindedly stroked his faceplate. "Aren't you going to the debrief?"

"Debrief?" she said blankly.

That only seemed to worry him more. "The debrief for the Darkrai-"

She looked away at the name.

"The, uh, Altru mission. Y'know, when you saved every Pokemon in Almia?"

Now that she thought of it, Rhythmi might have told her about it a while ago… "Oh…when?"

"Now," he said. "That's why I'm here; they won't start without you."

She blinked a moment before standing and brushing past him in the direction of the meeting room.

Keith stared after her. He looked at the ceiling and prayed to anything listening that Kate would be okay.

They were all assembled. Debriefs tended to be long, so everyone had brought in small folding chairs to sit on. Someone had brought one for the youngest attendee, so Kate quickly sat and looked at Erma.

After a moment her mind had already disconnected from the world of focus. She stared at the light coming from the underfoot monitor, not seeing the designs in front of her. What she really wanted was to curl up in her bed and stay there, but she didn't want to make people worry.

Her thoughts drifted, and soon she couldn't remember what she had been thinking about it the first place. She stayed like that, dazed and unfocused, until Shel nudged her leg for the third time. She refocused herself and looked up, intending to join whatever conversation was taking place, but nobody was in their seats. Everybody was gathered in the middle of the room, talking about something in whispers that failed to be whispers, easily audible. Kate was set to get up and listen in, but from the snatches of conversation she heard someone say, "…about Kate. I'm not…"

She immediately resumed her slouch from before, but this time she was intently focused on the words of the group.

"Whenever I mention Darkrai - sometimes even if I just mention Altru, or Melody, or the mission - she looks away and goes back into a daze. It might have something to do with that." That was Keith, she was sure. He had a loud voice.

"Perhaps trauma…Darkrai is…been a lot for her to…" Wendy, maybe. Kate subtly scooted her chair closer so she could hear better.

"She's a Top Ranger, and she didn't get that title for sitting around and having a weak mind. Kate's strong…stronger than some of us here, I might say."

"Everyone has their limits, Sven. She was bound to break under all of that strain."

"Any ranger should have been able to handle it. Maybe not a rookie ranger, but Darkrai's antics were no scarier than things the average ranger may face. Considering that it's Kate we're dealing with, I believe it's impossible that Darkrai is what has caused this."

"I think…" The voice got quiet, but a moment later Keith regained his strength. "We expect so much of her, and we justify it by saying that she's mature, and smart, and skilled. She has more of those than me, I can tell you that right now. But we forget…she started Ranger School two years early. Barely a year after that she was asked to come here, so she should actually still be in school right now. But here she is, and we put so much on her and think she can handle it, but… I don't know if she can. I've seen glimpses of stress and breakdowns from her, and for all of the Altru mission she was acting odd. She needs a break."

Kate shook her head. "Thanks, but you're wrong. It's not the age that matters. I'm mature enough to be a Top Ranger, and that means I have to act like one. Don't make excuses for me."

The group turned as one to look at her as she looked at them. Keith hesitantly continued, "I think what Kate needs is a chance to act her age. She needs the chance to have no obligations or rules and be able to have fun, because even in school…even then she acted like she was fifteen when she was only thirteen."

"Maybe, in my mind, I _was_ fifteen back then. You have no right to claim to know my mind. I have plenty of fun, and you need to accept that I don't always show it."

"I…" Keith stopped. "Kate…that doesn't change the fact that something's wrong now. All I want to do is fix it. Something about Darkrai-" Kate flinched and bit her lip. "Yes! Something about what it did bothers you. All you need to do is tell someone, Kate."

"No," The word was so faint that even Kate barely heard herself say it. "I…if I think about it - no, I - don't make me." She couldn't bear to remember the things she had seen - the nightmares she had witnessed. She couldn't admit that at one point it had driven her so insane that she had given up. The mere memory of it made her cringe and shake, and she choked whenever she tried to explain.

"Talking always helps. You can trust me, Smartie."

Her memories were surrounding her, suffocating her, and her face was warm and wet, and everybody was staring, and all she could do was say, "You can't make me." And she ran.

She fled the meeting room and was halfway to her room when Keith caught up and swept her into a tight, encasing hug. Instead of fighting she let him hold her, and she cried. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried like this, sobs making her body shake and leaving her gasping for air. And Keith just hugged her tighter and whispered soothing words in her ear, like he would to a Pokemon, and all she could do was let her numbness wash away, followed by every ounce of dignity and strength she possessed.

* * *

_Blazie_


	15. Only

_Whee, another unamazing little thingy. This is much cheerier, so enjoy~_

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* * *

**__**Only**_

It was her birthday.

It was odd, knowing that she wouldn't go home that night. She would get no party, no cake or balloons and very few presents. Her parents had sent a few through the post, which she'd received the day before, but it wasn't the same without them there.

When Kate was finished dressing and writing a letter to her sister, thanking her for her gift of some new hair clips - her bangs were always in the way - she exited the dormitory with a large bag of schoolbooks slung over her shoulder.

Breakfast was quickly consumed, and soon she was in class. Kate hadn't had much of a chance to talk to her friends, so when lunch break came along she was looking forward to actually enjoying her special day.

The first thing that Rhythmi did was envelop her in a hug, which Kate only tolerated because she was in a good mood. Then she said, "Happy birthday, Kate! Omigosh, I love birthdays!" Then she hugged her again, and Kate gently detached her, laughing.

They headed to the cafeteria, grabbed their meals and headed outside to the spot they normally ate at: the Pledge Stone. As they put their lunches down, Kate said, "Keith's late, as usual."

"Nope!" a voice shouted gleefully. Suddenly Kate was in the air, being whirled around by her other best friend. She yelled in protest and pushed at the arms around her middle, but after a moment she gave in and began laughing. Finally, Keith put her down and said, "Happy fourteenth, Smartie!" She lightly pushed him, but he didn't stumble. Keith crossed his arms. "Hey, you know you enjoyed it!"

She grinned. "That was for surprising me, Wise Guy."

Kate plopped down on the grass and grabbed her slice of pizza, but Rhythmi shoved a colourfully-wrapped present at her before she could take a bite. "Pleeeeease open it now! I can't wait any longer!" Kate sighed and put down her food, wiped her hands on the grass and took the present. It had a large, handmade card with lots of sparkles, which was to be expected of Rhythmi, but she was surprised to see that it was mostly black and silver, Kate's favourite colours, with a few splashes of red and pink. Usually anything made by Rhythmi was all pink and purple. She opened it carefully so the sparkles wouldn't fall off.

_Dear Kate,_

_I can't believe you're fourteen now - I mean, I was fourteen when I started here, but you're going to graduate with us soon! You're so, so smart, and I think that a little bit has been rubbing off on me, so thanks a bunch! Hopefully I'll be your Operator when we leave and then we'll see each other every day! Have the best day ever, got it?_

_Love, Rhythmi._

Kate smiled and nodded at Rhythmi, who rolled her eyes and motioned for her to open the gift. Kate was one of those people who saved the paper, so she carefully broke the tape holding it together and unfolded the paper. It revealed new red and yellow hair ties, and two tiny charms with a small bag. Kate picked them up. One was a fancy heart, and one was two interlocking letter "K"s. She picked them up and ran a finger over them.

"They're charms that come with glue you can stick to plastic and stuff," Rhythmi said. "So you can put 'em on your Styler. And you can take them off when you get your real one! Mine's the heart, obviously. It's the only _pretty_ one."

Keith shrugged. "Hey, I'm not about to give her a flower or something. Might as well give her something that means something."

"Mine totally means something!"

Kate, who had been busy sticking on the charms, looked up and said simply, "Shut up. It's my birthday. Keith, please don't tell me that your charm was in Rhyth's present because you forgot to get me something."

Keith looked appalled. "'Course not! Uh..." He dug around in his bag until he found a small, rectangular package wrapped in plain white paper. When Kate took it from him something inside shifted, and when she tilted it something inside moved with it. Sounded like components of some sort.

Keith had written his message in shiny blue ink on the outside.

_Smartie,_

_You're...the greatest, you know that? Just so you know. You're also really hard to shop for. I had no idea what to get you, so I decided that you wouldn't mind a few clones of yourself. Enjoy your clones - though, between you and me, none of them compare to the original._

_Keith_

Kate furrowed her brow. He obviously hadn't made _real _clones of her...but...

She carefully opened the wrapping and turned over a small box of Smarties.

She stared at it.

She started to laugh. She giggled and gasped for air, and when Rhythmi grabbed the message and read it she joined her friend. Keith looked between them sheepishly. "Well, hey, I knew it was corny, but you don't have to laugh at me!"

Kate looked up, a rare sparkle in her eye. "It's the best gift I've ever gotten, Wise Guy!" she said between giggles. "Only you would dare give me something so…silly."

Rhythmi sighed contentedly and pulled her friends into a hug. Kate smiled happily. Only her friends could make her feel nearly this special. She pulled away, opened the box of candies and popped one in her mouth. And only Keith could make a simple gift be worth so much.

* * *

_Blazie_


	16. Precious

_Heh, funny story...this has been sitting on my computer for over a month and I just rediscovered it. ^^; Sorry for the wait!_

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_**Precious**_

"Hey, remember our internship?" Keith's voice echoed around the cave, light but strained.

"Yes, I clearly remember you swinging the basket so much that I had to separate you from it before you broke our precious cargo."

"Oh, c'mon Kate, it was just lunch!"

Kate shrugged, staring dully at a rock. "It was our first mission ever. You can't blame me for wanting to impress our future employers."

_"Your_ future employers, remember? I got to spend a year at the beach. Helluva lot better than this cave."

Kate sighed. "Anything would be better than this cave."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "Even one of Darkrai's nightma…" He trailed off, realizing his mistake, but it was too late. "Crap, Kate, I'm sorry - don't cry-"

"I - I'm not crying," she replied, forcing herself to speak. "You - you know better than…"

"Yeah. I do. I'm sorry, that was dumb."

"L-Like you doing something idiotic is surprising."

Keith winced. "Okay, let's go back to the internship. At least then you'll have an excuse to be mean to me."

"This is nothing like the internship. We're probably going to die, huh?"

"Wha - Kate, you can't think like that."

"Keith, we've tried for hours to move these rocks with no success. Your Styler is broken and mine has no signal, and we're probably going to run out of oxygen soon."

"Kate-" Slowly, he realized why she was being so negative. "Man, I shouldn't have brought up Dar- uh, I shouldn't have brought up that mission…I'm sorry, Kate."

No response.

"We're not gonna die. We're too precious to the Union. They're probably searching for us now."

"In all the wrong places. We weren't supposed to come down this tunnel."

"I…" Lost for words to comfort her, Keith decided to take a risk. It would probably result in a fresh bruise or two. Probably yelling. But if it worked…

He took a deep breath and carefully, slowly, hugged her.

She didn't respond at first, but after a minute or two she leaned against him, exhausted. Her voice, while not exactly cheerful, had lost its dull, depressed quality and seemed almost…amused. "You do realize we'll have some explaining to do if we're found like this, right?"

He grinned and held her closer. "Changed your mind about dying, Precious?""Call me that again and you're getting a punch to the face," she said automatically, but he had a feeling she didn't mean it.

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_Blazie_


End file.
